1676 in science explained

The year 1676 in science and technology involved some significant events.

Astronomy

• Summer – The Royal Greenwich Observatory, designed by Christopher Wren, is completed near London.^[1]
• December 7 – Danish astronomer Ole Rømer measures the speed of light by observing the eclipses of Jupiter's moons, obtaining a speed of 140,000 miles per second (approximately 25% too slow).
• Edmond Halley arrives on the island of Saint Helena, having left the University of Oxford, and sets up an astronomical observatory to catalogue stars from the Southern Hemisphere.

Biology

• Antony Van Leeuwenhoek discovers bacteria, observed with the microscope.^[2]
• Francis Willughby's Ornithologiae is published by John Ray, the foundation of scientific ornithology.^{[3] [4] [5] [6]}

Medicine

• William Briggs publishes an anatomy of the eye (the first in England), Ophthalmographia, at Cambridge.^[7]
• Thomas Sydenham publishes the textbook Latin: Observationes mediciae, the enlarged 3rd edition of his Latin: Methodus curandi febres.

Paleontology

• The first fossilised bone of what is now known to be a dinosaur is discovered in England by Robert Plot, the femur of a Megalosaurus from a limestone quarry at Cornwell near Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire.^[8]

Technology

• July 7 – The first clocks using a form of deadbeat escapement, constructed by Thomas Tompion to a design by Richard Towneley, are installed at the Royal Greenwich Observatory.

Births

• May 28 – Jacopo Riccati, Italian mathematician (died 1754)
• Caleb Threlkeld, Irish botanist (died 1728)
• Maria Clara Eimmart, German astronomer, engraver and designer (died 1707)

Deaths

• May 25 – Johann Rahn, Swiss mathematician (born 1622)
• September 4 – John Ogilby, English cartographer (born 1600)

Notes and References

1. Book: Chambers, R.. Robert Chambers (publisher born 1802)

   . Robert Chambers (publisher born 1802). The Book of Days. 1878.

2. News: September 17, 2018. India Today . How bacteria was discovered by the father of microbiology, Antonie van Leeuwenhoek . 2021-08-30.
3. Frank N.. Egerton. A History of the Ecological Sciences, Part 18: John Ray and His Associates Francis Willughby and William Derham. Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America. 86. 4 . 301–313. 2011-04-26 . October 2005. 10.1890/0012-9623(2005)86[301:ahotes]2.0.co;2.
4. Book: Keynes, Sir Geoffrey. Geoffrey Keynes

   . Geoffrey Keynes. 1976. John Ray, 1627–1705: a bibliography 1660–1970. Van Heusden. Amsterdam. 52.

5. Book: Raven, Charles E.. Charles E. Raven

   . Charles E. Raven. 1942. John Ray, naturalist: his life and works. Cambridge University Press.

6. Book: Newton, Alfred. Alfred Newton

   . Alfred Newton. 1893. Dictionary of Birds. Black. London.

7. Web site: Barbara Beigun. Kaplan. Briggs, William (c.1650–1704). Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press. 2004. 2011-10-10. 10.1093/ref:odnb/3413.
8. Book: Sarjeant, William A.S.. Farlow, James O.. Brett-Surman, Michael K.. The Complete Dinosaur. 1997. Indiana University Press. Bloomington. 0-253-33349-0. 3–11. The earliest discoveries. registration.